| OLD SAYBROOK - The attorney for a woman who was seriously injured when the car she was in plunged into the river at Saybrook Point says emergency personnel failed to respond quickly enough. The new accusations were made by New London-based attorney Robert I. Reardon Jr., who represents Barbara Connors. They are part of a threatened lawsuit filed against the town last month, regarding an Oct. 14 accident involving Connors and her son-in-law, Alan Hauser, of Old Lyme. Both were in the Ford Explorer that crashed through a fence and into 10 feet of water. Hauser managed to get out, but Conners, 75, was trapped 30 minutes in the submerged vehicle. She suffered brain damage and other debilitating injuries.
Reardon filed the initial notice of intent last December, which faulted a number of town officials for failing to provide proper safeguards at the scene of the accident. Among those named in Reardon's new complaint are Fire Chief Jeff True, Det. Sgt. Eugean Heiney, firefighter Chris Cestaros and police officers Michael Gardner, Michael Spera and Jay Rankin.
"We have an ongoing investigation which has revealed facts regarding the conduct of police and fire personnel," said Reardon, who declined to offer specifics. He said that unless the town attorneys offered an alternative settlement, the case would go to court within six months.
Deputy Police Chief Tom O'Brien on Thursday strongly disagreed with the attorney's accusations and said police and firefighters did everything within their power to save Connors. "I think they're ridiculous," O'Brien said of the charges. "Emergency personnel responded quickly and efficiently in that they resuscitated the lady. They performed not only with a tremendous amount of courage, but also showed their skill as personnel."
Any difficulties with the rescue, O'Brien said, were due to the unusual nature of the accident and the conditions of the water at Saybrook Point. "That kind of motor vehicle accident is not the norm," he said. "It's murky and very dark down there, so it was certainly difficult to locate anyone."
At the time of the accident, the first people to enter the water - True, Gardner and Spera - did not have scuba gear. Police divers Rankin and State Trooper David Todd are credited with pulling Connors from the car, but it is not clear when they arrived on the scene.
Reardon accuses the rescuers of failing to resuscitate Connors promptly, but Rankin's report from the day of the accident claims that technicians "immediately began to administer CPR" once Connors was out of the water.
Twice in the weeks after the accident, the town honored the rescuers with award ceremonies, one sponsored by the Board of Selectmen and the other by the Police Commission. Hauser attended the second event with his wife and family. |